Death: Martin Hadfield (pictured with his mother Annie O'Gorman) failed to get responses on almost every job application over a three-month period

A young gardener who was ‘too proud’
to claim benefits killed himself after unsuccessfully applying for 40
jobs in three months, his devastated family said yesterday.

Martin
Hadfield was left ‘demoralised’ and ‘with no self-worth’ after hours
filling in forms at his local Job Centre turned out to be in vain.

His
family said the ‘industrious and hardworking’ 20-year-old lost hope
after he was repeatedly passed over in favour of younger applicants
prepared to work for less.

Although
youth unemployment is now falling, Mr Hadfield’s family said they
wanted him to be remembered as more than a statistic – and appealed for
other young jobseekers in his situation to be treated with a ‘human
touch’ rather than facing red tape and bureaucracy.

‘Martin
was the kind of guy who was industrious but too proud to tell us if
anything was wrong,’ his stepfather Peter O’Gorman, 47, said after an
inquest into Mr Hadfield’s death.

Describing
how his stepson ‘hated’ going into the Job Centre, he added: ‘Many
people go in with a sense of self-worth – they really do want a job –
but come out feeling demoralised and put down.’

Mr
Hadfield had worked for his stepfather’s car valeting business after
his GCSEs before getting a job as a landscape gardener and achieving NVQ
qualifications.

But in
April last year he lost his job when the firm downsized. He
unsuccessfully applied for 40 posts over the next three months – and
most of these applications went ignored because he was ‘undercut’ on
wages by younger and less experienced candidates.

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Just
24 hours after his last Job Centre appointment in July – which simply
resulted in an invitation to a ‘follow-up’ meeting – he was found hanged
at his flat in Tottington, Greater Manchester.

‘On
the day he died, his mum gave him some money for the bus home and
instead he walked the five miles home and saved it for something
important,’ his stepfather said.

'Became a statistic': Mr Hadfield was 'undercut' on wages by younger and more inexperienced candidates

‘That
was the kind of boy he was, hardworking and with so much potential.
Martin never claimed any money or benefits in his life. He got nothing
off the government and was proud not to.’

His
mother Annie O’Gorman, 50, a former prison officer, said: ‘Martin was
just a regular boy and he just didn’t think to talk to someone about
what he was going through. It was just a tragic moment of madness.’

Mr O’Gorman said his stepson’s experience of constantly attending the Job Centre had been ‘demoralising’.

'Demoralising': Just 24 hours after a meeting where staff a the Jobcentre Plus in Bury (pictured) invited him to a 'follow up' meeting, he was found hanged at his flat

Younger days: Mr Hadfield (pictured above in his earlier years) left school with GCSEs and - after helping his stepfather valet cars - got a job at as a landscape gardener and achieved National Vocational Qualifications

SUICIDES BY YOUNG BRITISH MEN

There were 5,981 suicides in the UK in 2012 - 77 per cent of which were men, according to statistics published by the Samaritans charity.

This total figure was down slightly from 6,045 in 2011, but up significantly from 5,608 in 2010.

The UK rate of suicide among men aged 20 to 24 in 2012 was 15.5 per 100,000 people, compared to 3.2 for women of the same age.

The only age groups with lower male suicide rates in 2012 were the under 20s and over 60s, the figures also showed.

‘The human touch is so much better than looking at a name on a piece of paper,’ he said. ‘The bureaucracy is ridiculous.

‘In
the last months of his life [Martin] became a statistic to other
people. He was a statistic by being out of work, a statistic when he
went into the Job Centre and now he is a statistic by killing himself.

‘Sadly this statistic seems to be growing, especially in boys Martin’s age who are struggling.’

Mr
Hadfield’s flatmate Stuart Evans, 20, who found his body, told the
hearing in Heywood that his friend had been ‘getting more and more fed
up’ with his fruitless job hunt.

Recording
a verdict of suicide, coroner Simon Nelson said: ‘Martin was clearly
very highly thought of and these are fine attributes indeed. It may well
be a moment of madness – but I feel sure he intended the consequences
of his actions.’

He urged others in Mr Hadfield’s position to talk through their problems.

Last week figures revealed the number of unemployed 16- to 24-year-olds has fallen to 868,000, its lowest level in five years.

For confidential
support call the Samaritans in the UK on 08457 90 90 90, visit a local
Samaritans branch or clickhere for details